U.S. patent application number 15/207703 was filed with the patent office on 2017-06-01 for information processing apparatus and control method.
The applicant listed for this patent is KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA, TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA. Invention is credited to Kazuo Sumioka.
Application Number | 20170155775 15/207703 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58777585 |
Filed Date | 2017-06-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170155775 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sumioka; Kazuo |
June 1, 2017 |
INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD
Abstract
In accordance with an embodiment, an information processing
apparatus comprises an imaging device configured to acquire a
peripheral image of the information processing apparatus; a storage
device configured to store maintenance information indicating a
status of the apparatus for a maintenance; a notification device; a
controller configured to detect a face of a person based on the
peripheral image acquired by the imaging device, determine whether
the detected person is a manager of the information processing
apparatus, and control the notification device to inform the
maintenance information read from the storage device if the
detected person is determined as the manager of the information
processing apparatus.
Inventors: |
Sumioka; Kazuo; (Yokohama
Kanagawa, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA |
Tokyo
Tokyo |
|
JP
JP |
|
|
Family ID: |
58777585 |
Appl. No.: |
15/207703 |
Filed: |
July 12, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 1/00037 20130101;
G06K 9/00268 20130101; H04N 1/00336 20130101; H04N 2201/0094
20130101; G06K 9/00221 20130101; H04N 1/00074 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04N 1/00 20060101
H04N001/00; G06K 9/00 20060101 G06K009/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 30, 2015 |
JP |
2015-233991 |
Claims
1. An information processing apparatus, comprising: an imaging
device configured to acquire a peripheral image of the information
processing apparatus; a storage device configured to store
maintenance information indicating a status of the information
processing apparatus for a maintenance; a notification device; and
a controller configured to detect a face of a person based on the
peripheral image acquired by the imaging device, determine whether
the detected person is a manager of the information processing
apparatus, and control the notification device to inform the
maintenance information read from the storage device if the
detected person is determined as the manager of the information
processing apparatus.
2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the
apparatus requires maintenance by the manager based on the status,
and control the notification device to inform the maintenance
information if the information processing apparatus requires the
maintenance by the manager and the detected person is the
manager.
3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein the storage device stores feature information indicating
features data based on a face image of the manager, the controller
is configured to compare the first information with detection
information indicating features data based on a face image of the
detected person extracted from the peripheral image.
4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3,
wherein the maintenance information includes a corresponding member
and information indicating a status of the corresponding
member.
5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4,
wherein the controller further configured to detect a member based
on the peripheral image acquired by the imaging device, determine
whether the detected member is associated with the information
processing apparatus, determine whether the detected member
corresponds to one of the corresponding member associated with the
status indicating that the maintenance by the manager is required,
and control the notification device to inform the maintenance
information if the detected member corresponds to the corresponding
member which is required the maintenance by the manager and the
detected person is the manager.
6. A control method, comprising: receiving a peripheral image of an
information processing apparatus acquired by a imaging device;
receiving maintenance information indicating a status of the
information processing apparatus for a maintenance; detecting a
face of a person based on the acquired peripheral image;
determining whether the detected person is a manager of the
information processing apparatus; and informing the maintenance
information through a notification device if the detected person is
determined as the manager of the information processing
apparatus.
7. The control method according to claim 6, further comprising:
determining whether the status indicates that the information
processing apparatus requires maintenance by the manager, and
controlling the notification device to inform the maintenance
information if the information processing apparatus requires the
maintenance by the manager and the detected person is the
manager.
8. The control method according to claim 7, further comprising:
receiving feature information, from a storage device, indicating
features data based on a face image of the manager, comparing the
feature information with detection information indicating features
data based on a face image of the detected person extracted from
the peripheral image.
9. The control method according to claim 8, wherein the maintenance
information includes a corresponding member and information
indicating a status of the corresponding member.
10. The control method according to claim 9, further comprising:
detecting a member based on the peripheral image acquired by the
imaging device, determining whether the detected member is
associated with the information processing apparatus, determining
whether the detected member corresponds to one of the corresponding
member associated with the status indicating that the maintenance
by the manager is required, and controlling the notification device
to inform the maintenance information if the detected member
corresponds to the corresponding member which is required the
maintenance by the manager and the detected person is the
manager.
11. An information processing system for informing a notification
via a notification device of an information processing apparatus,
comprising: an imaging device configured to acquire a peripheral
image of the information processing apparatus; a storage device
configured to store maintenance information indicating a status of
the information processing apparatus for a maintenance; a detector
configured to detect a face of a person based on the peripheral
image acquired by the imaging device; a controller configured to
determine whether the detected person is a manager of the
information processing apparatus, and transmitting the maintenance
information read from the storage device to the notification device
if the detected person is determined as the manager of the
information processing apparatus.
12. The information processing system according to claim 11,
wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the
information processing apparatus requires maintenance by the
manager based on the status, and transmitting the maintenance
information to the notification device if the apparatus requires
the maintenance by the manager and the detected person is the
manager.
13. The information processing system according to claim 12,
wherein the storage device stores feature information indicating
features data based on a face image of the manager, the controller
is configured to compare the feature information with detection
information indicating features data based on a face image of the
detected person extracted from the peripheral image.
14. The information processing system according to claim 13,
wherein the maintenance information includes a corresponding member
and information indicating a status of the corresponding
member.
15. The information processing system according to claim 14,
wherein the detector is configured to detect a member based on the
peripheral image acquired by the imaging device, the controller is
further configured to determine whether the detected member is
associated with the information processing apparatus, determine
whether the detected member corresponds to one of the corresponding
member associated with the status indicating that the maintenance
by the manager is required, and transmitting the maintenance
information control to the notification device if the detected
member corresponds to the corresponding member which is required
the maintenance by the manager and the detected person is the
manager.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of
priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-233991, filed
Nov. 30, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein
by reference.
FIELD
[0002] Embodiments described herein relate generally to an
information processing apparatus and a control method.
BACKGROUND
[0003] In an information processing apparatus such as an image
forming apparatus, a maintenance work for replacing or restocking
consumable items such as sheets, toner and the like or for
maintaining the apparatus is required. In such a case, the
information processing apparatus executes an operation
(hereinafter, referred to as an "informing operation") for
informing or notifying a user that the self-apparatus needs the
maintenance work. For example, the information processing apparatus
executes the informing operation such as display of a message, an
output of sound or lighting of an indicator. In recent years, the
information processing apparatus can execute the informing
operation if a person is detected in the periphery of the
apparatus. However, the conventional information processing
apparatus does not identify a person serving as an informing
target. Therefore, the apparatus executes the informing operation
to a user who does nothing for the maintenance work.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1 illustrates an external view of an image forming
apparatus 100 according to an embodiment;
[0005] FIG. 2 illustrates block diagram of the image forming
apparatus 100 according to the embodiment;
[0006] FIG. 3 illustrates first feature information;
[0007] FIG. 4 illustrates state information;
[0008] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of an informing
processing executed by the image forming apparatus 100 according to
a first embodiment;
[0009] FIG. 6 illustrates block diagram of an image forming
apparatus 100a according to a second embodiment;
[0010] FIG. 7 illustrates second feature information; and
[0011] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of an informing
processing executed by the image forming apparatus 100a according
to the second embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] In accordance with an embodiment, an information processing
apparatus comprises an imaging device, a storage device, a
notification device and a controller. The imaging device configured
to acquire a peripheral image of the information processing
apparatus. The storage device configured to store maintenance
information indicating a status of the apparatus for a maintenance.
The controller is configured to detect a face of a person based on
the peripheral image acquired by the imaging device, to determine
whether the detected person is a manager of the information
processing apparatus, and to control the notification device to
inform the maintenance information read from the storage device if
the detected person is determined as the manager of the information
processing apparatus.
[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the information processing
apparatus and a control method is described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
First Embodiment
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an external view of an image forming
apparatus 100 serving as an information processing apparatus
according to the embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 is,
for example, a multifunctional device. The image forming apparatus
100 has a display 110, a control panel 120, a printer section 130,
a sheet housing section 140, an image reading section 200 and an
image capturing device 300. Further, the printer section 130 may be
an electrophotographic-type device for using a toner or an
inkjet-type device.
[0015] The image forming apparatus 100 uses a developing agent such
as toner to form an image on a sheet. The sheet is, for example, a
paper or a label paper. The sheet may be an optional object as long
as the image forming apparatus 100 can form an image on a surface
thereof.
[0016] The display 110 may be an image display device such as a
liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence)
display and the like. The display 110 displays various kinds of
information relating to the image forming apparatus 100. The
display 110 serves as a notification device. The notification
device may alternatively or additionally include a speaker which
makes sounds and an indicator which emits light and the like.
[0017] The control panel 120 includes a plurality of buttons. The
control panel 120 receives a user operation. The control panel 120
outputs a signal corresponding to the user operation to a control
section (controller) of the image forming apparatus 100. Further,
the display 110 and the control panel 120 may be integrated as a
touch panel.
[0018] The printer section 130 forms an image on the sheet based on
image information received via a communication path or image
information generated by the image reading section 200. The printer
section 130 forms an image through, for example, the following
processing. The printer section 130 forms an electrostatic latent
image on a photoconductive drum based on the image information. The
printer section 130 forms a visible image through attaching the
developing agent to the electrostatic latent image. The printer
section 130 transfers the visible image on the sheet. The printer
section 130 fixes the visible image on the sheet through heating
and pressurizing the sheet. Further, the sheet on which the image
is formed may be a sheet housed in a sheet housing section 140 or a
sheet that is manually inserted.
[0019] The sheet housing section 140 houses the sheet used in the
image formation in the printer section 130.
[0020] The image reading section 200 has light source and CCD
(Charge-Coupled Device) or CMOS sensor, and reads image formed on
the original as the intensity of the light. The image reading
section 200 stores the read image information. The stored image
information may be sent to another information processing apparatus
via a network. The stored image information may be used to form an
image on the sheet through the printer section 130.
[0021] An image capturing device (imaging device) 300 such as a
camera photographs or records the periphery of the image forming
apparatus 100. The image capturing device 300, for example, is
arranged at the upper portion of the image forming apparatus 100,
as shown in FIG. 1. The image capturing device 300 continuously or
intermittently takes a peripheral image of the image forming
apparatus 100 at a prescribed period. The image capturing device
300 outputs the peripheral image to the image forming apparatus
100. Further, the arrangement of the image capturing device 300 is
not necessarily limited to a mode in which the image capturing
device 300 is mounted in the image forming apparatus 100 as long as
the periphery of the image forming apparatus 100 can be
photographed thereby. For example, the image capturing device 300
can be connected with the image forming apparatus 100 via a
communication cable or a wireless, and may be arranged on a ceiling
or a wall inside the room in which the image forming apparatus 100
is located.
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the image forming
apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. The image forming
apparatus 100 includes a controller having a CPU (Central
Processing Unit) and a memory and an auxiliary storage device
connected via a bus line. The memory stores some programs which
operate each section and device of the image forming apparatus 100.
The controller (CPU), through executing the program, controls a
feature information storage section 101, a state information
storage section 102, a peripheral image acquisition section 103, a
first detection section 104 (detector), a manager determination
section 105 and an informing section 106. Further, all or a part of
functions of the image forming apparatus 100 may be realized by
using hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated
Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) or an FPGA (Field
Programmable Gate Array). The program may be recorded in a
computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording
medium refers to a storage device such as a portable medium, for
example, a flexible disc, a magnetic optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM,
or a hard disk built-in the computer system. The program may be
sent via an electrical or optical communication line. In this
embodiment, the controller of the image forming apparatus serves as
the peripheral image acquisition section 103, the first detection
section 104, a manager determination section 105. The notification
device, for example the display 110, serves as the informing
section 106.
[0023] The feature information storage section 101 and the state
information storage section 102 each include a storage device such
as a magnetic hard disk device, a semiconductor storage device and
the like. The feature information storage section 101 stores
feature information indicating features of a face of a
manager/administrator of the self-apparatus in advance. The feature
information may be generated with any one of the existing methods
as long as it is the information indicating the feature of the face
and can be subjected to the numerical comparison. For example, the
first feature information is indicated by a plurality of positions
of feature points extracted from an image obtained by photographing
the face of the manager.
[0024] Further, the state information storage section 102 stores
state information indicating whether or not the self-apparatus is
in a state in which the maintenance is required (hereinafter,
referred to as a "maintenance requiring state"). The state
information is updated in response to the change of the state of
the self-apparatus by the control section (controller) of the image
forming apparatus 100.
[0025] The peripheral image acquisition section 103 acquires the
peripheral image from the image capturing section 300. The
peripheral image acquisition section 103 outputs the acquired
peripheral image to the first detection section 104.
[0026] The first detection section 104 acquires the peripheral
image from the peripheral image acquisition section 103. The first
detection section 104 detects a face of a person from the acquired
peripheral image. The method with which the first detection section
104 detects the face of the person from the peripheral image may
use any one of the existing face recognition technologies.
[0027] The manager determination section 105 determines whether or
not the person whose face is detected from the peripheral image by
the first detection section 104 is the manager of the
self-apparatus. Specifically, the manager determination section 105
acquires the feature information (hereinafter, referred to as
"first detection information") based on the face image of the
detected person extracted from the peripheral image. The manager
determination section 105 determines whether or not the detected
person is the manager based on the first detection information and
the feature information (hereinafter, referred to as "first feature
information") indicating the features based on the face image of
the manager of the self-apparatus stored in the feature information
storage section 101 in advance. The informing section 106 informs
the manager of the information relating to the maintenance of the
self-apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as "maintenance
information") based on a result of the determination of the manager
determination section 105.
[0028] FIG. 3 illustrates the first feature information. For
example, the first feature information is maintained as a first
feature information table 1011 shown in FIG. 3. The first feature
information table 1011 includes first feature information records
for each manager ID. The first feature information record includes
the manager ID and each value of the feature information. The
manager ID indicates identification information of the manager of
the image forming apparatus 100. The feature information indicates
the first feature information of the manager identified with the
manager ID.
[0029] FIG. 4 illustrates the state information. For example, the
state information is maintained as a state information table 1021
shown in FIG. 4. The state information table 1021 includes state
information records for each state ID. The state information record
includes the state ID, a flag and each value of corresponding
members. The state ID and the flag indicate whether the state of
the image forming apparatus 100 associated with the corresponding
member is the maintenance requiring state. The state ID refers to
identification information of the maintenance requiring state of
the image forming apparatus 100. The flag indicates whether or not
the self-apparatus is in the maintenance requiring state identified
with the state ID. The corresponding member indicates a
replaceable, restock or consumable member/item of which the
maintenance is required in the maintenance requiring state
identified with the state ID. For example, the corresponding member
includes at least one of toner, sheets, staples, photosensitive
drum and roller.
[0030] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of a processing
(hereinafter, referred to as an "informing processing") in which
the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment
informs the manager of the maintenance information.
[0031] First, the peripheral image acquisition section 103 of the
image forming apparatus 100 acquires the peripheral image from the
image capturing device 300 (ACT 101). The peripheral image
acquisition section 103 outputs the acquired peripheral image to
the first detection section 104. The first detection section 104
acquires the peripheral image from the peripheral image acquisition
section 103. The first detection section 104 detects a face of a
person from the acquired peripheral image (ACT 102). Specifically,
the first detection section 104 extracts points (hereinafter,
referred to as a "feature point") indicating features of the face
of the person from the peripheral image to detect the face of the
person from the peripheral image. The first detection section 104
outputs information indicating the feature point extracted from the
peripheral image as the first detection information to the manager
determination section 105.
[0032] Next, the manager determination section 105 determines
whether or not the person detected from the peripheral image by the
first detection section 104 is a manager of the self-apparatus (ACT
103). Specifically, the manager determination section 105, based on
the first feature information stored in the feature information
storage section 101 in advance and the first detection information
acquired by the first detection section 104, determines whether or
not the person detected by the first detection section 104 is a
manager of the self-apparatus. For example, by comparing the first
feature information with the first detection information, the
manager determination section 105 acquires a correspondence degree
between the feature of the face of the detected person from the
peripheral image and the feature of the face of the manager. The
manager determination section 105, through comparing the acquired
the correspondence degree with a prescribed threshold value,
determines whether or not the detected person from the peripheral
image is the manager of the self-apparatus.
[0033] If it is determined that the detected person from the
peripheral image is not the manager of the self-apparatus (ACT 103:
No), the manager determination section 105 terminates the informing
processing. On the other hand, if it is determined that the
detected person from the peripheral image is the manager of the
self-apparatus (ACT 103: Yes), the manager determination section
105 outputs the result of the determination to the informing
section 106. The informing section 106 determines whether or not
the self-apparatus is in the maintenance requiring state (ACT 104),
and informs the manager of the maintenance information based on the
result of the determination.
[0034] For example, the informing section 106 refers to the state
information table 1021 to select a state information record the
value of the flag of which is "1". The informing section 106, if
the state information record satisfying the condition is selected,
determines that the self-apparatus is in the maintenance requiring
state. On the other hand, if the state information record
satisfying the condition is not selected, the informing section 106
determines that the self-apparatus is not in the maintenance
requiring state.
[0035] If it is determined that the self-apparatus is not in the
maintenance requiring state (ACT 104: No), the informing section
106 terminates the informing processing. On the other hand, if it
is determined that the self-apparatus is in the maintenance
requiring state (ACT 104: Yes), for example, the informing section
106 informs the manager that the self-apparatus is in the
maintenance requiring state as the maintenance information (ACT
105). Herein, no limitations are given to the method with which the
informing section 106 informs the manager of the maintenance
information. For example, the informing section 106 may inform the
manager of the maintenance information through the output of a
buzzer sound or blinking of an LED (Light Emitting Diode). In this
case, the informing section 106 may express contents of the
maintenance information informed to the manager through an output
pattern of the buzzer sound or a blinking pattern of the LED.
Further, the informing section 106 may inform the manager of the
maintenance information through displaying the contents relating to
the state information in which the flag in the state information
table 1021 is "1" on the display 110.
[0036] The image forming apparatus 100 with such a structure of the
first embodiment detects the manager from the peripheral image
obtained by photographing the periphery of the self-apparatus, and
informs the detected manager of the information relating to the
maintenance of the self-apparatus. Through such a function, in the
image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, as the
maintenance requiring state of the self-apparatus can be informed
to the right person (that is, the manager), the maintenance work of
the self-apparatus can be more efficiently executed.
[0037] Further, the image forming apparatus 100 of the first
embodiment informs the manager standing around the self-apparatus.
Thus, in a case of executing the informing operation through the
output of the sound, it is possible to prevent the notification to
a person inexperienced in the maintenance who passes by the
periphery of the self-apparatus. Further, it is possible to prevent
a job or work of the person standing around the self-apparatus from
being hindered through continuously outputting the sound inside the
room where the self-apparatus is installed.
Second Embodiment
[0038] FIG. 6 is diagram illustrating the example of functional
components of an image forming apparatus 100a according to the
second embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100a is different
from the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment in
that the image forming apparatus 100a is equipped with a feature
information storage section 101a instead of the feature information
storage section 101, a second detection section 107 (detector) and
a maintenance operation controller 108. The other functional
sections are the same as that of the image forming apparatus 100.
Thus, the functional sections other than the feature information
storage section 101a, the second detection section 107 and the
maintenance operation controller 108 are applied with the same
numerals as FIG. 2 and the description thereof is omitted in the
following.
[0039] As with the first embodiment, the controller (CPU), through
executing the program, controls each section of the FIG. 6.
[0040] The feature information storage section 101a further stores
second feature information in advance in addition to the first
feature information. The second feature information indicates
features of members (hereinafter, referred to as a "maintenance
member") relating to the maintenance of the self-apparatus. The
second feature information may be generated with any one of the
existing methods as long as it is the information indicating the
feature of the maintenance member and can be subjected to the
numerical comparison. For example, the second feature information
is indicated by a plurality of positions of feature points
extracted from an image obtained by capturing the maintenance
member.
[0041] The second detection section 107 acquires the peripheral
image from the peripheral image acquisition section 103. The second
detection section 107 detects the maintenance member from the
acquired peripheral image. The method with which the second
detection section 107 detects the maintenance member from the
peripheral image may use anyone of the existing image recognition
technologies.
[0042] The maintenance operation controller 108 is a functional
section for controlling the maintenance operation of the
self-apparatus. The maintenance operation refers to an operation
relating to the maintenance of the self-apparatus, for example, an
operation of opening a cover of a part where the replacement of the
maintenance member is required. In this case, the image forming
apparatus 100a is equipped with a drive section (not shown) such as
a motor or a solenoid coil for controlling the operation of the
cover in advance. The maintenance operation controller 108 is
capable of controlling an opening and closing operation of the
cover by controlling the current or voltage applied to these drive
sections. The maintenance operation may be any other operation as
long as the operation relates to the maintenance of the
self-apparatus. For example, the maintenance operation may be an
operation such as pretreatment required for replacement of the
maintenance member. The maintenance operation controller 108
controls, based on the result of the determination of the manager
determination section 105 and a detection result of the second
detection section 107, the maintenance operation of the
apparatus.
[0043] FIG. 7 is diagram illustrating the example of the second
feature information. For example, the second feature information is
maintained as a second feature information table 1012 shown in FIG.
7. The second feature information table 1012 includes second
feature information records for each maintenance member ID. The
second feature information record includes the maintenance member
ID and each value of the feature information. The maintenance
member ID indicates identification information of the maintenance
member. The feature information indicates the second feature
information of the maintenance member identified with the
maintenance member ID.
[0044] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the informing
processing executed by the image forming apparatus 100a according
to the second embodiment. Further, a part of the processing shown
by the flowchart in FIG. 8 is the same as that shown by the
flowchart in FIG. 5. Thus, the same processing is applied with the
same numerals shown in FIG. 5, and the description thereof is
omitted in the following.
[0045] If it is determined by the informing section 106 that the
self-apparatus is not in the maintenance requiring state (ACT 104:
No), the informing section 106 terminates the informing processing.
On the other hand. If it is determined by the informing section 106
that the self-apparatus is in the maintenance requiring state (ACT
104: Yes), the second detection section 107 detects the maintenance
member from the peripheral image (ACT 201).
[0046] Specifically, the second detection section 107 extracts
second detection information indicating features of the maintenance
member from the peripheral image. The maintenance operation
controller 108 refers to the second feature information table 1012
to acquire the feature information of each maintenance member. The
maintenance operation controller 108 acquires a correspondence
degree between the feature information acquired as the second
feature information and the second detection information. The
maintenance operation controller 108, through comparing the
acquired the correspondence degree with a prescribed threshold
value, identifies that the maintenance member detected from the
peripheral image is which of the maintenance members. The second
detection section 107 notifies the maintenance operation controller
108 of the maintenance member ID detected from the peripheral
image.
[0047] Next, the maintenance operation controller 108 determines
whether or not the maintenance member detected from the peripheral
image is a maintenance member (hereinafter, referred to as a
"maintenance requiring member") of the self-apparatus which is
required for maintenance (ACT 202). Specifically, the maintenance
operation controller 108 refers to the state information table 1021
to determine whether or not the flag corresponding to maintenance
member ID notified from the second detection section 107 is "1". If
it is determined that the flag corresponding to the maintenance
member ID notified from the second detection section 107 is not
"1", the maintenance operation controller 108 determines that the
maintenance member identified with the maintenance member ID is not
the maintenance requiring member. On the other hand, the flag
corresponding to the maintenance member ID notified from the second
detection section 107 is "1", the maintenance operation controller
108 determines that the maintenance member identified with the
maintenance member ID is the maintenance requiring member.
[0048] If it is determined that the maintenance member detected
from the peripheral image is not the maintenance requiring member
(ACT 202: No), the maintenance operation control section 108
proceeds to the processing in ACT 105. On the other hand, if it is
determined that the maintenance member extracted from the
peripheral image is the maintenance requiring member (ACT 202:
Yes), the maintenance operation controller 108 determines whether
or not the manager detected from the peripheral image holds the
maintenance requiring member (ACT 203).
[0049] For example, the maintenance operation controller 108
determines whether or not the distance between the manager detected
from the peripheral image and the maintenance requiring member is
equal to or lower than a prescribed threshold value. If the
distance between the manager and the maintenance requiring member
is greater than the prescribed threshold value, the maintenance
operation controller 108 determines that the manager does not hold
the maintenance requiring member. On the other hand, if the
distance between the manager and the maintenance requiring member
is equal to or lower than the prescribed threshold value, the
maintenance operation controller 108 determines that the manager
holds the maintenance requiring member.
[0050] If it is determined that the manager detected from the
peripheral image does not hold the maintenance requiring member
(ACT 203: No), the maintenance operation controller 108 proceeds to
the processing in ACT 105. On the other hand, if it is determined
that the manager detected from the peripheral image holds the
maintenance requiring member (ACT 203: Yes), the maintenance
operation controller 108 enables the self-apparatus to execute the
maintenance operation. For example, the maintenance operation
controller 108 enables the self-apparatus to execute the operation
of opening the cover of a part where the replacement of the
maintenance requiring member is required (ACT 204).
[0051] The image forming apparatus 100a with such a structure of
the second embodiment executes the maintenance operation if the
manager holds the maintenance requiring member in the informing
processing for informing the maintenance information of the
self-apparatus. Through such a function, the image forming
apparatus 100a can reduce the load relating to the maintenance of
the manager. In other words, the image forming apparatus 100a of
the second embodiment can more efficiently execute the maintenance
work of the self-apparatus.
[0052] Hereinafter, modifications of the image forming apparatus of
the embodiment are described.
[0053] The image forming apparatus 100 may inform the maintenance
information depending on the manager detected from the peripheral
image. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 determines whether
to inform the maintenance information depending on the manager
detected from the peripheral image. For example, the image forming
apparatus 100 may inform the maintenance information if a manager
who can execute the maintenance on the maintenance requiring state
of the self-apparatus is detected.
[0054] Further, the image forming apparatus 100 may include a
function of storing the manager who executes the maintenance. In
this case, the image forming apparatus 100 stores the manager who
executes the maintenance and the type of the maintenance executed
by the manager in an association manner. The image forming
apparatus 100 may inform the manager of the maintenance information
if the manager detected from the peripheral image is associated
with the type of the maintenance depending on the maintenance
requiring state of the self-apparatus.
[0055] The first feature information may be generated in the image
forming apparatus 100. In this case, for example, the image forming
apparatus 100 generates the first feature information as follows.
First, the image forming apparatus 100 detects a face of a person
from an image captured by the image capturing section 300. The
image forming apparatus 100 receives input of selection of a person
registered as the manager from the detected persons via the control
panel 120. Next, the image forming apparatus 100 receives the input
of the manager ID associated with the selected person via the
control panel 120. The image forming apparatus 100 associates the
feature information of the face of the selected person with the
input manager ID to generate the first feature information and
stores the first feature information in the feature information
storage section 101.
[0056] The image forming apparatus 100 may generate the first
feature information without the operation of the person. In this
case, for example, the image forming apparatus 100 generates the
first feature information as follows. First, the image forming
apparatus 100 detects a face of a user who stands in front of the
self-apparatus and uses the self-apparatus from the image captured
by the image capturing section 300. For example, the image forming
apparatus 100 may determine whether or not the user stands in front
of the self-apparatus according to the size of the face of the
person detected from the image. The image forming apparatus 100
associates the feature information of the face of the detected
person with the identification information of the user who is using
the self-apparatus to generate the first feature information and
stores the first feature information in the feature information
storage section 101.
[0057] The state of the manager serving as the condition for
enabling the self-apparatus to execute the maintenance operation by
the image forming apparatus 100a is not limited to whether or not
the manager holds the maintenance requiring member. For example,
the image forming apparatus 100a, if the manager stands within a
prescribed range from the self-apparatus, may enable the
self-apparatus to execute the maintenance operation.
[0058] The method for detecting the manager in the periphery of the
self-apparatus by the image forming apparatus 100 or 100a is not
limited to a mode of detecting the manager from the peripheral
image. For example, the image forming apparatus 100 or 100a may
detect the manager in the periphery of the self-apparatus through
detecting a signal such as a beacon issued from a terminal held by
the manager.
[0059] In accordance with at least one mentioned-above embodiment,
through the function of detecting the manager standing in the
periphery of the self-apparatus and a function of informing the
detected manager of the information relating to the maintenance of
the self-apparatus, the maintenance work of the self-apparatus can
be more efficiently executed.
[0060] The function of detecting the manager standing in the
periphery of the self-apparatus and a function of informing the
detected manager of the information relating to the maintenance of
the self-apparatus are also applicable in an information processing
apparatus other than the image forming apparatus.
[0061] While certain embodiments are described, these embodiments
are presented byway of example only, and are not intended to limit
the scope of the invention. Indeed, the novel embodiments described
herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore,
various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the
embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the
spirit of the invention. The accompanying claims and their
equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as
would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.
* * * * *